National – Page 837

Atlanta mass shooting live updates: 1 killed, 4 hurt; suspect captured

May 3, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(ATLANTA) — One person is dead and four are injured from a mass shooting at an Atlanta medical center on Wednesday, police said.

Police have released these images of the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Deion Patterson, who they say is at large.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

May 03, 8:00 PM EDT
Suspect has been captured, police say

The suspect, Deion Patterson, has been apprehended following an hourslong manhunt, Atlanta police said.

May 03, 6:49 PM EDT
Suspect seen in Cobb County shortly after shooting, police say

Police in Cobb County said Deion Patterson was seen on video in the county around 12:30 p.m. ET, roughly 20 minutes after the shooting, though it’s unclear if he’s still in the area.

Cobb County Police Sgt. Wayne Delk said during a press briefing that after learning Patterson might be in the area, his team checked flock cameras and “did discover that the vehicle had entered Cobb County,” located northwest of Midtown Atlanta, where the shooting occurred.

“Around 12:30 p.m., we did spot what appeared to be a suspect in this area, which is why we have such a heavy presence,” Delk said.

Police did not discover the video footage until around 2:30 p.m., and Delk acknowledged it’s unclear if Patterson is still in the county.

“He might still be in the area,” he said.

The vehicle Patterson was believed to be driving was recovered by Atlanta police in a parking garage, Delk said.

-ABC News’ Will McDuffie

May 03, 5:24 PM EDT
3 patients remain ‘critically ill’

Of the four women who were shot and injured in the medical facility waiting room, three of them are considered “critically ill” and are in the intensive care unit, according to Dr. Robert Jansen, the chief medical officer at Grady Health.

The most seriously injured patient remains in the operating room, Jansen said, while a second victim has completed an operation.

Another victim underwent an interventional radiology procedure, which is used to repair vascular injuries, and will need more procedures in the future, he said.

The fourth patient is considered stable, he said.

-ABC News’ Darren Reynolds

May 03, 4:51 PM EDT
Sen. Warnock, in grief for his home state, begs Congress to take action

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., gave a passionate speech on the Senate floor in the wake of the latest mass shooting to strike the nation, this one unfolding in his “own backyard.”

“I rise today in shock and sorrow and in grief for my home state,” Warnock said.

Police officers work the scene of a shooting near a medical facility, May 3, 2023, in Atlanta.
Warnock noted that his two children were under lockdown at school on Wednesday amid the ongoing hunt for the Atlanta gunman.

“We behave as if this is normal — it is not normal. It is not right for us to live in a nation where nobody is safe, no matter where they are. We’re not safe in our schools. We’re not safe in our workplaces. We’re not safe at the grocery store. We’re not safe at movie theaters. We’re not safe at spas. We’re not safe in our houses of worship. There is no sanctuary in the sanctuary. We’re not safe at concerts. We’re not safe at banks. We’re not safe at parades. We’re not safe in our own yards and in our own homes,” he said. “And now, today, we can add medical facilities to that list.”

He warned, “It’s only a matter of time that this kind of tragedy comes knocking on your door.”

As a pastor, Warnock said, “I’m praying for those who are affected by this tragedy,” but he stressed, “It is a contradiction to say that you are thinking and praying and do nothing. … We pray by taking action.”

Warnock said he’s “pleading” with his colleagues in Congress to pass stricter gun reforms to “do everything we can to protect all of us and certainly all of our children.”

-ABC News’ Trish Turner

May 03, 3:50 PM EDT
39-year-old woman killed, 4 women injured

The manhunt is ongoing for the mass shooting suspect, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, Atlanta police said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Police said the gun has not been recovered.

The shooting, which unfolded in a medical center waiting room, killed a 39-year-old woman, police said.

The four injured victims, who are all women, are “fighting for their lives,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. They are ages 71, 56, 39 and 25, police said.

“As soon as possible I’ll be in touch with the families of the victims,” he said.

Patterson’s family is cooperating with the investigation, police said.

May 03, 3:17 PM EDT
Doctor recounts performing surgery as shooting unfolded 1 floor below

Dr. Timothy Simons was performing surgery one floor above the scene where the shooting unfolded.

He told ABC News he completed the surgery and then sheltered in place.

When police came to clear the building floor by floor, Simons said he was told to put his hands up to verify that he was not the shooter.

“Then they escorted us all down the stairs,” he said.

-ABC News’ Janice McDonald

May 03, 2:58 PM EDT
Carjacking may be connected to shooting

As Atlanta police search for the suspected gunman, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, they say a car was stolen “not long after the shooting” and remains missing.

“We are working to locate the carjacked vehicle and to determine whether it is connected to the shooting,” police said.

May 03, 2:31 PM EDT
Doctor saw officers swarm his building

Dr. Ahmed Ali, a radiation oncologist at the building, told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB that he was returning from his lunch break when he saw armed officers swam the scene.

“I was worried what was happening,” he said. “Building security … they told me gunshots were coming from the 11th floor. They said there was a pool of blood in the elevator shafts when the doors opened.”

-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira

May 03, 2:30 PM EDT
3 critically injured, 1 remains in ER

Of the four people who were shot and injured, three are in critical condition and one is in the emergency department, according to hospital officials.

All four are adults, officials said.

May 03, 2:02 PM EDT
1 dead, 4 injured

One person was killed and four were injured in the shooting at Laureate Medical Center in Atlanta, according to police.

“Officers are actively searching for the suspect and any other victims,” police said.

Northside Hospital tweeted that it’s “cooperating with law enforcement following the shooting at our midtown #Atlanta location earlier this afternoon. We urge people in the area to shelter in place and follow instructions from law enforcement on the scene.”

School bus-sized asteroid to come nearly as close to Earth as the moon

May 3, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — An asteroid the size of a school bus will be passing by Earth at a distance close to that of the moon on Wednesday, according to NASA.

The asteroid, which has an orbit larger than Earth’s, will come as close to the planet as 270,000 miles. The moon is 238,900 miles from Earth.

The asteroid — called 2023 HV5 — is 41 feet in size, according to NASA’s lab.

The asteroid is moving at about 8.9 kilometers per second, or 5.53 miles per second, according to the agency’s calculations.

HV5 isn’t the only asteroid to pass Earth relatively nearby this week.

The next asteroid approaching Earth, which is the size of a house, could get as close as 397,000 miles away. It will be approaching Earth on Thursday.

NASA has discovered 31,831 near-Earth asteroids of all sizes.

Near-Earth objects are asteroids and comets that orbit the sun like the planets.

As of May 2, NASA had discovered 851 asteroids that were larger than 1 kilometer, or 0.62 miles. An estimated 50 asteroids are left to be found, according to NASA.

In the last 30 days, 10 asteroids have passed closer to Earth than the moon, according to NASA. In the last 365 days, 103 asteroids passed closer to Earth than the moon.

3rd accuser testifies Trump started ‘kissing me’ during 2005 visit to Mar-a-Lago

May 3, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A former People magazine writer, testifying in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation and battery case against former President Donald Trump, told the jury that Trump pushed her against a wall and began kissing her while she was visiting his Mar-a-Lago estate on assignment in 2005.

Carroll, who brought the lawsuit in November, alleges that Trump defamed her in a 2022 Truth Social post by calling her allegations “a Hoax and a lie” and saying “This woman is not my type!” when he denied her claim that Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.

The former Elle magazine columnist added a charge of battery under a recently adopted New York law that allows adult survivors of sexual abuse to sue their alleged attacker regardless of the statute of limitations. Trump has denied all allegations that he raped Carroll or defamed her.

Former People writer Natasha Stoynoff told the jury she was at Mar-a-Lago in late 2005 to write an article on Donald and Melania Trump’s first wedding anniversary, when Trump asked to show her a room in the estate.

“I followed him and we went in through these back doors and down the hall and turned right into a room,” Stoynoff said. “I’m looking around, I’m thinking, ‘Wow, really nice room,’ wondering what he wants to show me, and I hear the door shut behind me.”

Stoynoff said she had interviewed Trump on a number of occasions as part of her assignment on the “Trump beat” for People. She testified that Trump asked her into the room while Melania was changing clothes in preparation for their interview outside.

“By the time I turn around, he has my hands on my shoulders and he pushes me against the wall and he starts kissing me,” Stoynoff testified. She said that she tried to shove him away.

“He came toward me again and I tried to shove him again,” Stoynoff said. “He was kissing me and he was against me, holding my shoulder back.”

She testified that she said no words.

“I couldn’t. I tried. I was just flustered and shocked. No words came out of me,” Stoynoff told the jury.

“Did you tell him to stop?” Carroll’s attorney, Michael Ferrara, asked. “I couldn’t,” Stoynoff answered. She said the encounter ended when a butler entered the room.

Stoynoff described herself as “ashamed and humiliated at what had happened,” and testified said nothing about it to her bosses at People because she didn’t want to cause trouble at the magazine.

She said she first decided to tell her story after she saw the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape that surfaced during the 2016 presidential campaign, on which Trump is overheard boasting to then-host Billy Bush about grabbing and kissing women without consent.

“You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” Trump says on the tape, which was played for the jury. “And when you’re a star they let you do it … You can do anything.”

“Whatever you want,” another voice on the tape is heard saying.

“Grab them by the p—-,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”

After Stoynoff made her allegation in 2016, Trump denied her claim by saying “Look at her. You tell me what you think. I don’t think so,” in a response that Carroll’s attorneys said echoed his assertion that Carroll was “not my type.”

On cross-examination, Trump attorney Joe Tacopina asked Stoynofff if she had a legal claim against Trump. She said no.

Stoynoff is one of two women who the court has ruled are allowed to testify about prior alleged assaults by Trump. On Tuesday, Jessica Leeds told jurors that Trump had groped her during a flight to New York in 1979, in what Carroll’s attorneys said showed a pattern of behavior on Trump’s part.

Leeds, who first made her allegations to The New York Times just before the 2016 presidential election, testified that she was seated next to Trump in the first-class section, “when all of a sudden Trump decided to kiss me and grope me.”

“It was when he started putting his hand up my skirt, that gave me a jolt of strength,” testified Leeds, who said she freed herself and went “storming back to my seat in the back of coach.”

Trump has denied the allegations.

Earlier Wednesday, Tacopina told Judge Lewis Kaplan that Trump will not mount a defense in the case.

Tacopina told the judge that he had decided not to call an expert witness that had been expected to testify for the defense. “We’re not going to move forward,” Tacopina said.

The judge told the jury to expect to get the case “early next week,” following testimony from additional witnesses for the plaintiff.

Carroll’s sister, Cande Carroll, testified Wednesday afternoon that she found out about her sister’s alleged rape in 2019 when Carroll sent her an email containing a link to an excerpt of Carroll’s 2019 book that contained the rape allegation.

That she found out about it that way was hardly surprising, she said, because she and her older sister “just didn’t talk about those things.”

On cross-examination, the younger Carroll testified that she and Carroll had a close relationship in the 1990s when the alleged rape occurred.

“You talked almost daily?” defense attorney Perry Brandt asked. “Most days,” Carroll responded, before Brandt asked her to affirm that the first she had heard of the alleged sexual assault by Trump was in 2019.

Earlier Wednesday, a psychologist testified that Carroll continued to shop at Bergdorf Goodman after the alleged attack because “she didn’t feel that Bergdorf Goodman raped her.”

“She didn’t blame the store. She blamed herself,” said Dr. Leslie Lebowitz, who evaluated Carroll for the case.

The defense suggested the fact that Carroll continued to shop at Bergdorf’s, saved the dress she wore the evening of the alleged assault, and watched Trump’s reality television show, “The Apprentice,” were behaviors out of step with the deep trauma Carroll said she suffered.

Lebowitz pushed back against the inference from the defense that Carroll’s rape claim against Trump could not be true because she did not act like it actually happened.

“I think anywhere Ms. Carroll could see evidence that she was negatively affected by what happened, she would fight against it. So to not go back into Bergdorf’s would have been really obvious, given how much she loved that store,” Lebowitz said.

The same holds true for the dress, Lebowitz said.

“I think that she loves clothes and that was the most expensive dress she’d ever brought,” Lebowitz said. “It would have been impossible to avoid the realization that she was that negatively affected.”

As for watching “The Apprentice,” Lebowitz said there was excitement about the show in Carroll’s professional and social circles. To not watch would have forced her to reveal why.

On cross-examination, defense attorney Chad Seigel asked Lebowitz if her diagnosis concluded that Carroll had been raped.

“You’re not offering an opinion in this case whether Ms. Carroll was raped?” Seigel asked.

“I’m not,” Lebowitz replied.

Lebowitz said that Carroll did meet some of the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, including exhibiting signs of memories affected by trauma. She described a moment during her evaluation when Carroll “began to squirm in her seat” because she appeared to be “re-experiencing” elements of the alleged assault.

She also told the jury that rape victims commonly experience self-blame.

During her testimony earlier this week, Carroll said, “I was ashamed. I thought it was my fault.”

“Why did you think it was your fault, Ms. Carroll?” her attorney, Michael Ferrara, asked.

“Because I was flirting with him and laughing and having one of the great times. It was high comedy. It was funny,” Carroll said.

Trump attorney Joe Tacopina told Judge Kaplan at the conclusion of testimony Tuesday that Trump himself would not be testifying in the case.

“It’s his call,” the judge said. “I understand that. You understand that. He understands that.”

Trump is not required to appear, as the trial is a civil case and not a criminal one.

The nine-member jury of six men and three women is weighing Carroll’s defamation and battery claims and deciding potential monetary damages.

Carroll’s lawsuit is her second against Trump related to her rape allegation.

She previously sued Trump in 2019 after the then-president denied her rape claim by telling The Hill that Carroll was “totally lying,” saying, “I’ll say it with great respect: No. 1, she’s not my type. No. 2, it never happened. It never happened, OK?” That defamation suit has been caught in a procedural back-and-forth over the question of whether Trump, as president, was acting in his official capacity as an employee of the federal government when he made those remarks.

If Trump is determined to have been acting as a government employee, the U.S. government would substitute as the defendant in that suit — which means that case would go away, since the government cannot be sued for defamation.

This month’s trial is taking place as Trump seeks the White House for a third time, while facing numerous legal challenges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, his handling of classified material after leaving the White House, and possible attempts to interfere in Georgia’s 2020 vote. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said last week she would decide whether to file criminal charges against Trump or his allies this summer.

Parents of teenager who died by suicide after sextortion scam urge ‘tough’ conversations with children

May 3, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(MARQUETTE, Mich.) — The parents of a teenager who died by suicide are urging others to have “tough” conversations about sextortion scams — saying that frank communication could save other teenagers’ lives.

Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old from Marquette, Michigan, took his own life on March 25, 2022, after three Nigerian men pretended to be a female online and coerced DeMay to send a nude photo of himself, according to U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten. When he did, the three men allegedly demanded $1,000 from him. DeMay told the men he was going to take his own life due to their mistreatment, and they responded “good” and “enjoy your miserable life,” Totten said.

“Jordan’s smile could light up any room,” his mother, Jennifer Buda told reporters at a press conference with federal law enforcement officials on Wednesday. “Jordan’s charm and beautiful smile were contagious. Drawing people to him wherever he went and leaving a lasting impression on everyone he met.”

Buda said she “can’t imagine” what was going through her son’s head that night because of the “senseless act” against her son.

“When we were informed that Jordan was potentially a victim of an internet scam called sextortion via Instagram, there was never a hesitation in our minds to share his story,” Buda said. “We wanted everyone to be aware about sextortion and have those tough conversations with their families so if it did happen to them, they knew to talk to someone.”

Three men, Samuel Ogoshi, 22, Samson Ogoshi, 20, and Ezekiel Ejehem Robert, 19, all of Lagos, Nigeria, allegedly posed as a girl on Instagram and interacted with “hundreds” of victims, including DeMay, according to Totten. After DeMay’s death, the FBI opened an investigation, which they say led them to the three men in Nigeria. There is no lawyer listed for the men.

“This was a multifaceted investigation that involves identifying dozens of victims following the digital breadcrumbs left behind by the sextortion is on the internet,” Jim Tarasca, the FBI special agent in charge of the Detroit field office, said.

The three men are in the process of being extradited to the United States, according to federal officials.

Sextortion, according to the FBI, is a crime in which people adopt fake identities online, coerce victims to send nude photos of themselves and then try and get the victims to pay money in exchange for a promise not to post the photos.

Over the past year, law enforcement agencies have received over 7,000 reports related to the online sextortion of minors — resulting in at least 3,000 victims, primarily boys, according to the FBI. More than a dozen sextortion victims were reported to have died by suicide, according to the Department of Justice.

Younger victims in particular may feel ashamed of their actions, but they aren’t to blame, federal officials said. Sextortion cases are on the rise, with perpetrators all over the world attempting to exploit minors, Tarasca said.

“It’s a disturbing trend that we’ve been seeing across the country and that, for that matter internationally, the culprits aren’t just in Nigeria,” he said. “They are like many cyber scams, cyber base scans throughout the world from other countries. Some are right here in the United States. So it is an opportunity for people to make money.”

Americans lost $10.3 billion to internet scams in 2022, marking the highest losses in five years, according to the FBI.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

300,000 fentanyl pills, powdered fentanyl smuggled in SUV gas tank: NYC prosecutors

May 3, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A recent seizure of $5 million worth of fentanyl in New York City revealed a new tactic cartels are using to smuggle drugs into the United States, prosecutors and federal drug agents said Wednesday.

Approximately 300,000 fake oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and more than 11 pounds of powdered fentanyl were recently recovered from the gas tank of an SUV, according to the New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office.

“This seizure demonstrates one of the many ways evil drug cartels, like the Sinaloa cartel, smuggle fentanyl from Mexico to major cities like New York for street distribution,” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge Frank Tarentino said in a statement.

The vehicle, a red Ford Expedition with Texas plates, was stopped in the Bronx on Sunday, where a task force of DEA agents and NYPD officers discovered a hidden compartment that accessed the gas tank from inside the SUV, prosecutors said.

The fentanyl pills and powdered fentanyl were contained in vacuum-sealed packages and submerged in the vehicle’s gas tank, according to New York City special narcotics prosecutor Bridget Brennan.

“At a time when our city’s overdose rates are at a record high, the discovery of more than 11 pounds of powdered fentanyl and hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills manufactured to look like prescription pills, concealed in the gas tank of a truck near the Bronx Court House, is truly alarming,” Brennan said in a statement.

The fentanyl seized from the Ford Expedition is believed to have originated in Mexico, and the investigation revealed that the vehicle has crossed the U.S.-Mexico border multiple times, according to prosecutors.

The driver — identified by prosecutors as Enrique Perez, 44, of Columbus, Ohio — was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. Bail was set at $200,000 during an arraignment hearing on Monday.

“Thanks to this investigation, hundreds of thousands of dangerous pills were taken off the streets of the Bronx,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement. “These fake oxycodone pills containing fentanyl would have ruined so many lives and would have likely killed many.”

Atlanta mass shooting live updates: 1 killed, 4 hurt; suspect at large